Learn Trad Chinese

You meet someone new — maybe at a café, a class, or while traveling — and the first thing you want to know is: where is this person from? In Mandarin Chinese, there are several smooth, natural ways to ask that question. Which one you choose depends a little on context: are you asking about […]

You land in Taipei (or anywhere Chinese is spoken) and your brain’s buzzing: “How do I say — uh — something useful, before I accidentally order ten bowls of extra-spicy noodles?” This cheat sheet is your linguistic Swiss Army knife: greetings, basic questions, survival phrases, polite-as-heck lines, and everyday conversation glue. Use it. Memorize a

Every conversation in Chinese starts with one thing: a question. “Who are you?”, “Where’s the bathroom?”, “Why is my bubble tea salty?”—questions are how you actually use the language instead of just memorizing it. In this Yak Yacker guide, you’ll learn how to ask the most common kinds of questions in Traditional Mandarin—the kind that

A Friendly Yak’s Starter Pack A first-time Mandarin learner steps into a Taipei breakfast shop at 8:02, armed with nothing but enthusiasm and a dangerously vague hand gesture. The line grows, the griddle hisses, and somewhere between “egg pancake” and “oops, extra chili,” it becomes obvious: a tiny set of high-leverage words beats a thousand

When “Happy New Year” Lands Best Across Mandarin worlds, 新年快樂 (Xīnnián kuàilè) lifts two different moments. On January 1 it works as a clean, international greeting. Around Lunar New Year—the spring festival season when families gather, fireworks ripple, and red envelopes change pockets—it becomes part of a richer set of blessings. In Taiwan, 新年快樂 pairs

When And How Mandarin Speakers Say It The core birthday wish is 生日快樂. A fuller, slightly warmer version is 祝你生日快樂, which literally means “wish you a happy birthday.” In Taiwan and many overseas communities, both are natural in speech, on cards, in texts, and when the cake arrives. For elders or formal settings, traditional blessings

What “Good Luck” Really Sounds Like In Mandarin 祝你好運 is the clean, literal way to wish someone luck. It’s polite, crystal clear, and completely correct. In real life, though, speakers often choose more specific wishes that match the situation. For exams, careers, performances, or travel, a targeted blessing lands warmer than a generic “good luck.”

Why These Two Little Phrases Do Heavy Lifting 謝謝 is the most portable word pair in Mandarin. It works at cash registers, dinner tables, office doors, and midnight group chats. Its partner 不客氣 softens the social landing—“no need to be polite”—and tells the other person the favor sits lightly. Mastering the baseline forms is easy;

A Real-World Opener That Isn’t Always the Opener “你好嗎？” is the phrase every textbook loves. It’s tidy, literal, and perfectly understandable: “Are you well?” But everyday Mandarin often takes different routes. Friends slide into conversation with “最近好嗎？” (How have you been lately?), coworkers check in with “最近忙不忙？” (Busy lately?), and in Taiwan you’ll still hear

The Farewell That Promises A Next Time 再見 is the classic way to say “goodbye” in Mandarin. Literally “see again,” it closes a conversation with a small promise baked in: this isn’t the end, just a pause until the next meeting. In everyday speech, people often reach for shorter or warmer options—especially among friends—but 再見